Running, neck pain and how to treat it

Does running often feel like a literal pain in the neck? Your posture might be less than ideal. Yet one simple exercise could help relieve that ache. Office workers did lateral shoulder raises for two minutes every day, in a study reported by BioMed Research International. Ten weeks on, the volunteers had a drastic 40 per cent drop in neck and shoulder pain. Their shoulder muscles were also six per cent stronger and there was less muscular tension in that area, as measured by electromyography. All of which might help you wind your neck in and stop running with tight, hunched shoulders.

Stick em up

To do a lateral shoulder raise, stand on the middle of a long resistance band (as seen above), with both ends held one in each hand. Raise your arms straight out to the side, until they’re at right angles to your body.

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